Ireland player ratings v Scotland: ‘Man on a mission’ proves unstoppable, helped by support cast that included the ‘Killer B’
Ireland skipper Caelan Doris lifts the Triple Crown and Tadhg Beirne, inset, salutes the Aviva Stadium crowd
Following their cracking 43-21 defeat of Scotland in the final round of the Six Nations at Aviva Stadium on Saturday, here are the player ratings for Andy Farrell’s Triple Crown-winning Ireland.
Ireland player ratings
15 Jamie Osborne: We had such a sure hunch about the full-back coming into this that we unhesitatingly stuck him in our Six Nations Fantasy team and he needed just three minutes to deliver treasured points, blasting over for the game’s opening try. Patrolled the defence with intelligence, helping Tommy O’Brien to close the gap after an initial issue, and finished the game full of running. 7
14 Robert Baloucoune: Needed to make up for last weekend’s daft getting-beaten-by-a-Welsh-tighthead gaffe, and he did this and more. He led the initial charge on the Scottish line for the opening try from Osborne and then scored a show-stopper, running a beautiful, weaving line from 30 metres out to score on 19 minutes. The only pity was that he wasn’t around for the late Irish flourish, where the stage was cleared for O’Brien’s Crown-sealing two tries. 7
13 Garry Ringrose: He doesn’t generally get much love; there is a faction forever keen to talk about his level of missed tackles, and there were more here, but with the ball generally a stranger to him at the Aviva on Saturday, it became an afternoon to do the unseen grunt away from the cameras, such as running into the Scotland passing channel to cut down on potential options for Finn Russell or flying up on Kinghorn when a first-half Jack Crowley kick ahead didn’t do its thing. Handled in the move that led to the fourth Irish try before watching the end-game from the sidelines. 6
12 Stuart McCloskey: This overnight sensation at the age of 33 continued to strut his stuff with an admirable making up for lost time chutzpah. The cheer that coursed around the stadium stands when he hammered Russell on 15 minutes in the Irish 22 was like an electric current, so vibrant was the reaction to the tackle. Went on to hit Baloucoune with a lovely try assist pass, and the way he powered through midfield contact just before the break was another crowd-rousing moment. His second half became more about the tackle and ensuring that the D only allowed Scotland to get as close as five points on the scoreboard. 8
11 Tommy O’Brien: Recalled in place of Jacob Stockdale, he was exposed when biting in too late on Blair Kinghorn for the Darcy Graham try on seven minutes, but wow, he found his bearings after that and went on to finish with two late Ireland tries. It wasn’t just his potency that stood out, though, and we especially liked his line of hard running that spooked the knocking-on Huw Jones when play restarted from halfway at 26-21. That was the signal that these Scots weren’t going to push on from where they were. 8
10 Jack Crowley: Came into this with a generally mixed verdict from last weekend (we thought he played well), and he was more than competent in running the show here with the help of his effervescent No.9. His assist for the Osborne try was lovely, holding himself back away from the gain line to get his next pass was, and his kick to the corner was inch perfect for the second. Endured a second-half lull, as did the rest of the team with the Scots battling, which included him overrunning his cover line for the Rory Darge try. However, when it mattered most, he finished with a show of steel, wrapping it all off with a touchline conversion to be six from seven off the tee for 13 points. 8
9 Jamison Gibson-Park: He revelled early on with the dry ball in getting Ireland away as quickly as possible every time. That energy was pivotal in his team being on the front foot and delivering the 19-7 they took with them to the break. The second half demonstrated he wasn’t shy in getting stuck into the tackle, although he couldn’t get enough in the try-scoring Russell when tag-teaming with Dan Sheehan. He bounced back from there to get Ireland away in the clear down the finishing straight, and it was only with two minutes to go that Farrell decided to give sub scrum-half Craig Casey his token run. 8
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The forwards
8 Caelan Doris (c): A man on a mission who was never going to allow himself to skipper to become the first Irish side to lose to the Scots in 12 matches. Wielded sweet, sweet hands near the line in the genesis of the opening try, and his pent-up physicality then proved too much for the substituted George Turner on an 18th-minute carry. He also competently had the ear of English referee Luke Pearce throughout. The effective, dominant way that Doris played meant there was never any panic despite Scotland fraying the second-half nerves in the stadium. For instance, there was leadership by action at its best with his tonic of a carry in contact at 19-14 at the start of the move for the Darragh Murray try. A supreme contribution. 9
7 Josh van der Flier: The Scottish media had a thing about their so-called ‘Killer B’ back row way back, three players with surnames beginning with B, especially when it did a Croke Park number on the Irish in 2010, but Saturday was all about the ‘Killer V’, the Irish openside who annoyed the bejaysus out of the visitors. Here are two quickfire examples of his nuisance around the half-hour that summed up his impact, forcing Finn Russell into a handling error and then energetically tidying up after Baloucoune was pipped in a race to a loose ball by Kinghorn. Emptied himself during his 54 minutes and still finished the game’s top tackler despite not playing the last 26 minutes. 9
6 Jack Conan: Player of the match last weekend, he was less to the fore on this occasion, but he won’t mind that as he still put in a decent shift, especially in defence where he helped to ensure that the speed of the Scottish ball wasn’t what they needed to gain a decisive edge and win a first Triple Crown since 1990. Was interesting how he scrummed down at eight from the start. 7
5 Tadhg Beirne: The genuine Irish Killer B, he stung the Scots repeatedly to ensure the glue they had prospered with in recent weeks began to stretch and loosen. The visiting lock combination wasn’t a threat, and Beirne went about his business with a canny astuteness. Check out how he killed one of many Scottish multi-phase attacks with his poach as it entered the 22, waiting for Zander Fagerson to go to ground and rob him. Ireland missed him while he was in the blood bin, conceding two tries, but he returned to see it through and his 77th minute penalty turnover win ignited a cheer as loud as any for the tries. 9
4 Joe McCarthy: This wasn’t a ‘Joe Show’, the sort of performance where he sparkled in the open as well as grunting it up. But he did more than enough in the latter department to send Gregor Townsend homeward to think again. Took the catch at the lineout that resulted in Ireland’s second try, went on to make sure that the Scottish maul wasn’t an influence and he tackled his heart out. 8
3 Tadhg Furlong: Recovered from last weekend’s troubled night versus Wales, demonstrating that form is temporary class is permanent. Played with a controlled fury at the reliable scrum, was a willing and useful ball-carrying option, and he got up in opposition faces, as seen for example when forcing Max Williamson into a backwards spill early in the second half. 8
2 Dan Sheehan: Looked more like the Dan of old, finally getting back to his best, especially in the opening part of this fixture after being rested last week. Contributed to a decent lineout, and he sure enjoyed finishing off his 11th-minute maul try. Also demonstrated a welcome thirst and a dent in the tackle that he had struggled for over the winter. Appeared to love ruffling up the Scottish carry. 8
1 Tom O’Toole: We said in the Planet Rugby prediction that he needed to deliver to convince us that this Test loosehead experiment for a club tighthead wasn’t a passing fad, and he sure impressed us. Began with the rollicking penalty win at the opening scrum right under the referee’s nose, which was the catalyst for the opening score. He went on to be a constant thorn for Scotland, tackling to beat the pipe band, and his best moment was the 29th-minute turnover with the visitors looking to maul from five metres out. 8
Replacements: Farrell gauged the mood perfectly, and his six-changes-in-one-go manoeuvre in the 65th minute was just perfect in jolting the Irish at a juncture where they only led 26-21. Bundee Aki and Ciaran Frawley were soon involved in creating the game-breaking try, with Ireland ultimately winning the closing 15 minutes by a convincing 17-0. The head coach was also earlier rewarded with rookie Darragh Murray scoring a try during his initial cameo with Beirne off for blood. 8